This disclosure generally relates to an electric vehicle. More particularly, this disclosure relates to an electric vehicle including a fuel cell assembly.
In some instances, an electric vehicle may be required to operate in a low power mode for a period of time and a high power mode for a different period of time. For example, the electric vehicle can include a load configured to operate in the low power mode, and an electric motor configured to operate in the high power mode for providing mobility to the electric vehicle. The load can include various electric components such as a communications and sensor payload configured to operate in a predetermined voltage range. Operating the electric components outside of the predetermined voltage range can result in degradation or damage of the components.
Various approaches for providing power in a low power mode and a high power mode within a predetermined voltage range are known in the industry. In one approach, an electric vehicle is provided with a plurality of fuel cell stacks in series. Power conditioning is utilized to meet the voltage requirements of a load when only one of the fuel cell stacks is operated in the low power mode. This power conditioning can introduce inefficiencies in fuel consumption and also increase component packaging requirements and system complexity.
In another approach, two or more fuel cells stacks are arranged in parallel with each other. However, operating fuel cell stacks in parallel can increase the risk of fuel starvation due to stack variability and fuel maldistribution, which may result in fuel cell degradation due to corrosion and other operating conditions.